Door handle and latch construction



' Sept. 16,1947. F. E. BEEMS ETAL boon HANDLE AND LATCH CONSTRUCTIONFiled June 18, 1945 F. E. B cams E.D- Scuff INVHVTORS BY (2M5 6 PatentedSept. l6, 1947 V j2,427,436 DOOR HANDLE ANDLATCH CONSTRUCTION Floyd E.Beems, Dearborn, and Edwin D. Scott;

Plymouth, Mich., assignors to Ford Motor Company, Dearb orn, Mich, a.-corporation of Delaware This invention relates struction and, moreparticularly, to a door handle and door latch mechanism, designedprimarily for use-on the doors of automobile bodies. although adaptableto other installations as well.

The present trend of automotive body design is such that instead'of theouter door panel being inset a considerable distance from the's ideclearance line of the vehicle '(which' formerly was' represented by theouter edge of the running board and fenders), the door panels themselvesare now carried ou'tto, this line' and the ruin ning board, 'as such,hasdis'appeared--a smooth line being maintained from the front fenderthrough the door and-side panels to the rear fender. While this.construction 1 provides considerably more roominside the vehicle, and amore streamlined appearance to the exterior, it... creates a diflicultproblem in the location and.

operation 'of the door handles. .These, in the usual construction, mustprotrude a considerable distance outwardly of the door panel toprovide 1an easy grasp and togive adequate roomior i rotation to operate the doorlatch. Obviously, in cars of present design, if the handles are mountedin this manner they will extend beyond the clearance lineof the vehicle.This creates an additional hazard'to pedestrians; and, indeed, in somestates such projections beyond the clearance line are forbidden by law.In order to avoid these disadvantages, recourse has been had tooperating the latch by an exterior push button set flush with the outerdoor panel or by recessing the conventional door handle within the doorpanel. Either of these expedients is considerably more expensive and hascertain other features which are not entirely advantageous.

extreme upper portion of the door panel. As the panel generally has apronounced inward curve inwardly at this point, if the handle might belocated high enough on this curve, it can be,

placed within the minimum clearance lineof the vehicle. However, thisleadsto complications in positioning of the latch mechanism which, for anumber of reasons, should be placed lower on the door. In addition, itis desirable to-have the handle mechanism located substantially tangentto the surface upon which the handle is mounted mechanism mountedparallel with the inner surface of the door. These two surfaces are farfrom parallel as was usually the case in the earlier constructions sothat the connecting means be- Application June 18, 19,45, Serial 'No.5,99,976 v (o1. zin -164 I to automotivebody con- Another. expedientwhich has been'suggested many times is theinstallation of the doorhandle on the 60 and it is equally desirable to have the latch tween thehandle and latch must make due means permittingunimpeded'transmission'of the operating rotational force from the"handle to g the latch. Anotherexpedientsuggested.hesbeen' to so changethe latch mechanism-that theoper ative portion thereof-generally ,l mownthe rollback-be ofiset from thel'atch Plat an ranged generallyparallel-with thesurface' of outer door panel, so that it will be normstraight shank leading 'from the handle t ;rollback. Other proposalshave also beenfa vanced. looking towards modification offthe latmechanism or'of thefshanleonfs'tructioiior, both all with the ideaofperini g free joperationoi :and handle. I

joints to the shank would'be-expensive and i troduce an element likelyto give trouble in se vice; Nor has the redesigning ofthe latch mach fanismitself met withfavor, since these devices elements of the latchmechanism incre asesf its over-allthicknessl aiid leadsfto iriterferencewithj the window clearanceE-f Becessedihandle's areexpensive tovmanufacture; fspoil the smooth body 40 line, and rarelyprovide adequatehand clearance.

Under. these circumstances, the present" invention has particular merit,since: first, it is no more expensive to manufacture and install thanthe conventional latch and handle mechanism} second-, it 'permits'theuse of the regular latch mec'hanism' withoutany'change whatever; third,g as it .is entirely positive in opera'tion and has no universal-Joint,Or other similar connection;

.fourt'h, ,itpermits the handle to be located in a mitsfree rotation tobe transmitted from the handle to the latch even though these twoelements are located in oblique planes.

It follows that the use of the invention permits allowance for theobliquity existing. In order to; allow for-these angular difierencesexisting between the outer and inner door panels', it has" 5 beensuggested thatthe' latchoperating shank extending between thelatch-mechanism'andthe I handle incorporate a universal Joint or] otherthe shaft despite thefobliduity "between;the latch Noneof theseproposals have found in the' industry since.="the*addition ofuniversalhave long been standardized have beenso f 30 designed as-to occupy theminimum possible transverse space to prevent interference with thewindow which is slidably'mounted within the door and which must,wlienlo'were'd, pfiss thelock j mechanism. 5 It has-been found that anysub f 35 stantial change in the disposition of' the various plane ofconsiderable obliquity with the mount-: ing plane of, the latchmechanism; fifthyit per- 4 the mo'u'nting of the exterior handle onthe'upper J'ciirve oftnedoor panel, so that fit will-be positioned-wellinwardly ofthe clearance'lineofthe vehicle when the handle is in closedposition.

"It also permits a conventional lrlock llatch m'echwhenth'eslat'ch-isoperated, this isper'fectly per-.

missible and presents :no -hazard. The 'mount is such that adequate:room i is provided at all times stb egrasp the-handle and at least thisinitial -clearance may be maintained at :all stages of :the handlerotation. Thus, the inherent Jdisadvantage of a reces'sed handle isravoided and lthere i's no diiiiciilty in :providing the necessaryclearance when the handle is at its extreme opened position. Thelatchm'echanismismounted in exactly the usual manner and the handle andshank are assembled with it just 1 as had been ;done in conventionalpractice in the past. ""fw ithfthse and "other objects in view, the'inventi n '(QOl'lSiStS in the arrangement, construc tion, 'andcorn'bination f [the various elements comprising the structures:described in the specification, zclaimed in the claims and illustratedin 'theaccompanying drawings, in'which:

'1 is an end elevation f .a portion of a" ehlcle door incorporating theimproved latch .ihandle, ;a portion thereof being shown in tion subs'tantlal1y on the line .'l-'l of' Figure 2. Figure f2 is 19. partiallysectioned plan view tel-ten siibstagn't'ially =on the line 2i2 of Figure1.

,;Figure 3 is 'an elevation of a conventional straight shaiikshown iniiclose'd. position and inidieating theextreme clearance required in therollback. i 1. 1 ,Fi'g'ui'es 4 and 5 are :an elevation and a. plan viewrot a, shank .[iha'ving warsingle intermediate bend shown in-closedposltion in full line and in open lposition {Figure "5) in dotted line:again il- .ilust'r'ating the rollback clearance required.

iFig'ure -fi is an elevationphtheshank of this in 'vention' shownclosedin full line and open in The handle mounting on the outer panel ll 6comprises an escutcheon 3| which has (in this design) an outer plate 132overlying the panel ll and an abutment 33, which is generallyellipsoidal in cross section extendingthrough an aperture 34. The shank26 is permanently secured in the handle 35 which has a ball'section -30surround- 'ing the shank adapted to seat in the concavity 36 in theescutcheon 3|. The escutcheon 3| is held inposition on the shank (onwhich it is rotatably mounted) by the staking 31, the interposed washers'38 reducing the frictional resistance.

The'remote end 39 of the escutcheonil is of reduced section toaccommodate-the installation of the usual belt molding. An anchorplate4| is welded to the inner surface of the panel II and :has a lip 42through which the retaining bolt 43 passes to engageathreaded collar 44on the abutdotted ;line;;and indicating the reduced -neecssaryReferring-to Figuresl and 2; the door section I llghas the outer panelH; aninner' panel II, and anend panel 13 with a recess lllthrou'gh whicheiitrnds{the latch bolt =I'5. The latch'mechanism of the "usualconstruction having a face plate Ii abu'tting the inner surface of the:end panel IB ofthe doora'ndformed integrally with thesbase plate1I*1"abutting, for a"por;tion of its length,

"fit-gainst-a' 'd p e '8 formed in the innerpanel 12. The actu'ating:lever "19 is rotatably mounted io'n the -plate 1 and carriesa -pin,'-20"which is enepr'events rattling ;of the associated parts. The i sual'position "of the "window channel is shown at rollback '22.

.ment, thus securing the assembled escutcheon and-handle in positionwith the shank 2'6 'inthe The dotted line 28 represents the clearanceline of the body andit will be seen that the handle 35' in the closedpositiondoes not extend beyond it, while if the escutcheon were arrangedin alignment with the rollback, there would be an objectionable degreeof interference. When'thehandle '35 is operated to open the latch, itassumes the position shown on dotted line which may fall outside theclearance line 28; but it will be noted that there is stilladequate roombetween the handle and the body panel toaccommodate the user's hand.

Before considering the conformation of the shank 26, attention isdirected to Figures 3 t0 6. InFigure 3, approximately the same degree ofobliquity is assumed as exists in Figures -1 and 2, but astraight shank1-26 leads to'the rollback I22. Assuming that a 90 rotation is requiredto :operate the latch (actually somewhat less is usually required),:Figure 3 would also represent'the shank in rotated position and theexaggerated mini mum clearance required inthe opening I 25 of therollback 122. Such a clearance is structurally iundesirable "andwouldoccasion undue wear and noiserin the lock mechanism as well asbeing inefficient. in Figures 4'and v5, the same obliquity obtains, butthe shank 22B is bent midway between theends so that the ends are normalto the rollback and the plane of the handle, respectively. However, whenthe handle is rotated, as shown in'dotted line in Figure 5, through 90,

precisely the same clearance in the openin '225 of the rollback 222 isrequired as in the case of thestraight shank of Figure 3.

However, Figure 6 indicates the optimum concated as A in the verticalplane (Figure 1)-is twice the secondary angleindicated asB in thehorizontal plane (Figure 2), the rollback end of l the shank 26 willrotate without substantial axial ing trunnion portions 523 "which areiournaled in 1 ithexlryer J I 9 andcover plate -Z4'- and *asquarecendeviation normal to the plane of the rollback.

' This is indicated. in Figure '6 in which the two positions are shownin full and dotted line, and

the diminution in clearance in the opening 25, in therollback 22 overthat prevailing in theother examples is at once apparent. Thus, therotation of the shank 26 at the rollback 22 within the opening 25folloWs a constantly precessing axis 7 passing through a point at therollback and more or less normal to the plane of the rollback. This isaccomplished without the interposition of a universal joint or change inthe configuration of the rollback even though considerable obliquityexists between the plane or theouter panel at the handle and that of therollback. In,fact,theangleoi the precessing axi is substantially lessthan operates smoothly and without perceptible wear over the entirelifeo'fthe vehic'lefi While the best conditions obtain wh n: the beads aremade a the midpoint of the shank, the particular condition of obliquityobtaining may require that there be considerably more deviation in oneplane than'i'n another. In such cases; the bend may that madewith therollback planeby the linebe tween the handle and: the rollback;Thehandle I ceiv d et" hej-latpc'li endin-anionening'inatherm ar ues :bniv two h meplanes; the of ma q in one sad Diane-heir! Substam leof'ideformation' it d said shank being tatabie 1a (separatin largerthantheshanl;

member substantially 4.--A lat mechanism 1; for a' idoor ihavinga curvedouter panel with a latch actuati'ng'"'handle 1o mounted thereonformation substantially inone plane comprising a latch mcmberjmountedonan axial deviation at-th'e rollback tosome extenhbutthe conditions arestill'better'thanthoseobtain:

ing with a straight shaft'or one bent in but one plane.

It is apparent thatcertain changes may be made. in the; deta'ilsof theconstruction-shown, but it is the intention to cover by theclaimsfsuch'modifications as may be made within the'scope thereof.

The invention claimed is 1. A latch mechanism for a door, having anouter panel with a. latch actuating handle mounted thereon forrotation'substantially in'on'eplane comprising a latch member, mounted.on said door for reciprocation in a second plane oblique to saidfirst-plane, and a solid actuating shank extending between said handle.and said latch member said shank having its ends substantially normalto saidrespective'planes' and intermediately deformed so thatrotationof'sa'id' handle causes equivalent rotation ofsaid shank aboutan axis passing througha fixed point atsa'id latch member andhaving'aconstant angular relationship to said secondplane substantially'lessthan the angle betweenthe line passing through said handle mounting. andsaid point and said second plane and said shank being received at l thelarge end in an opening substantially larger than the shank.

2. A latch mechanism; for a doorhavin an outer panel with a latchactuating handle mounted thereon for rotation substantially in one planecomprising a latch member mounted on said door for reciprocation in asecond plane oblique to said first plane, a solidactuatingshankextending between said handle and said latch member and having its,ends-substantiallynormal to said respective planes, said shank beingintermediately angularly deformedin each of two nor-(- mal planes, sothat rotation of saidhandle causes equivalent rotation of said shankabout a constantly precessing axis passing through afixed I point atsaid latch member, and said shank being received at the large end in anopening substantially largerthan the shank.

3. A latch, mechanism for a door having a curved outer panel with alatch actuating handle mounted thereon for rot'ation'substantially inone plane, said mounting including a ball joint between said handleandsaid outer panel comprising a latch member mounted on an inner panelof said door for reciprocation in a'second plane oblique to said firstplane, a latch operating member rotatably mounted substantially in saidsecond plane and relatively vertically displaced from said handle, asolid actuating shank extending between I said handle and said latchoperating member and having its ends substantially normal to saidrespective planes, said shank beingintermediately operating/mechanismrotatably mount c to said respe tive pa es; said 'sh'ank he 1 gularbends ither inaina achcrtwonorin'a f-planesi 'conforming,to'fsaidlplanesof displacement e f angle-of saidibend in' said plane ofgj reater isplacement being substantiallyt ice-that of" the angle ofsaid bend insaid other normal plane; and said shank being' received at the latchend- 'v inan openingIsub'stanti'aHylarger thanth'e shank; 5 Alatchimeciianismfor a door having an inwardly curved outer panel withalatch actuating handle mountedtheron for rotation substantially in oneplane comprisingalatbh havi'n'ga back plate secured to an inner panel ofsaid door in a-secondplane" oblique to said first plane and 1 carryin'galatchlmemberreciprccaiiiein saidlsec-- 0nd plane operated by a rollbackrotatablywith: said second plane, said rollback bein'g'displac'edasubstantial distance vertically froms'a'id actuating handle, and'a solidactuating shank extendin'g'betvveensaid handle and said rollback andhaving its ends s bstantian'y norma to sa d respective plane's, said}shan'k being in'terme'diately deformed in each oftwo normai'pla'nes, sothat rotation of said handle causes equivalent'rota'tion of said shank"and said rollbackabout a constantly processing axis passing through afixed point at said rollback, and' said shank being-received at thelatch endfi'n anopening in themtatable latch operating membersubstantially largerthan the shank. v

6. In a vehicle door, a lat'ch mechanism comprising a rollback,rotatably'mount'ed' in--. a housing in a plane substantially conformingtothat of an inner panel of'said door, acurved'outer panel Of said doorhaving an'actuating-shandle mounted thereon .for rotation substantiallyin a second plane oblique tosaia 'flrst plane, the axis of-rotationorsaid handle being obliquetoith'e aiiis'of'rotation of saidrollbackand'saidsaxes'b'eing lateral ly di'splacedya solidhank-fikcdlysecuredto saidv mounted on said backingv plate inparallelism han le-at one end substantially norma tosai second plane andhavin'g'its other endextending shank I being bent intermediate its endin each"- of two normal planes, the angularity ofthe bend in one saidnormal plane being. substantially twice that in the othersaidnorm'alplane.

7. In a lock actuating mechanism; "a handle,- a solid shank nixed forrotationwith" saidilia'ntlle;a ball joint element on said handle,saidsha'nk'being bentat-a point intermediate its ends-in each" oftwosubstantially normal planes, the angularity of the bend in one saidnormal planebeingsubstantially twice the angularity of the bendin theothersaid normal plane,'the shank being received at the end remote fromthe handle in an opening substantially larger than the shank; v 8. Alook actuating shank bentat a point in-- termediate its ends in' each oftwo substantially normal-planes, the 'angularity of the bendin'one ofsaid normal planes being twice the angularity of thejben'd in'the otherof said normal planes.

9. A lock actuating shank bent at a point intermediate-its end in eachof two angularly disposed planes,; the angularity of the bend in one ofsaid planes beingsubstantially greater than the angularity of the bendin the other of said planes;

10. 1:1 a latch' operatmg'mecnanism fora door having a curved outervpanel with a latch actuat inghandle mounted thereon for rotation in oneplane,"said door having'a latch member mounted on said door forreciprocation in a second plane oblique to the first plane, a solidactuating shank extending between said handle and said latch member,said shank having its ends substantially normal "to said respectiveplanes and interme- Number diately deformed so that rotation of saidhandle causes equivalent rotation of said shank about an axis passingthrough a fixed point at said latch REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent: j 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 2,329,232 Van Voorhees Sept. 14, 19431,877,331 Johnstone Sept. 13, 1932 1,970,758 Lyons. et a1 Aug. 21, 19342,075,829 Ottinger Apr. 6, 1937

